Visa Announces New Crypto Advisory Service for Merchants and Banks

Payments giant Visa is launching a new consulting and advisory service to help its clients navigate the world of cryptocurrencies.

On Dec. 8, the company said its crypto advisory business, housed in its consulting and analytics division, will advise financial institutions, retailers and other companies on rolling out cryptographic features and exploring non-fungible tokens, as well as providing Central bank digital currency development wallet.

Part of the reason banks are interested in cryptocurrencies is to stay competitive, Visa said. Citing a recent internal study, Visa stated that “40% of surveyed cryptocurrency owners said they were likely or very likely to switch their primary bank to one offering cryptocurrency-related products within the next 12 months.”

U.S. financial services firm UMB is a client of Visa’s crypto advisory services, Reuters reported.

“We came to Visa to learn more about cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, and the use cases most relevant to our retail and commercial lines of business,” said Uma Wilson, executive vice president of UMB Bank.

The move marks the latest attempt by Visa to move further into the cryptocurrency industry, which has filed for a number of blockchain-related patents in the past. Visa’s research team is also working on the “Universal Payment Corridor” project, a blockchain interoperability hub that connects multiple blockchain networks, allowing digital assets to be transferred from various protocols and wallets.

Visa is one of many payment processors to enter the cryptocurrency business in recent years. Rival Mastercard recently launched a cryptocurrency-pegged payment card in the Asia-Pacific region, while online payments giant PayPal earlier this year launched a new consumer app offering cryptocurrencies, savings and direct deposits.

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